Deuteronomy 17:17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

There is a great sense of irony in reading this passage on kings, (14-20) written by Moses. Solomon, considered by most to be the greatest, and certainly the wisest, king of Israel, was very specifically in violation of verses 16 and 17, to the point you could say that he actively pursued violation of them. That is not wisdom! As the saying goes, power corrupts, and that’s certainly evident in the vast majority of leaders today. I think the key to the problem is mentioned in verse 20, that is, considering yourself better than others. The moment we have that attitude, we have ceded control not to the Holy Spirit but to the devil, and I don’t have to explain where that leads. Pride can be exceedingly deceptive, and we don’t have a very good understanding of genuine humility, either. We aren’t smart enough to sort it all out – not even Solomon – so we need to recognize our dependence on God and go to Him with everything. Only then will we receive the true wisdom that He offers freely (James 1:5) Where we need to start is seeking what the Bible says on any subject. We aren’t going to find anything like a GPS, guiding us turn by turn, but we will certainly find principles that will go a long way toward putting us on the right path. When we have that foundation, and the commitment to follow, then the Holy Spirit becomes our GPS. We have to start with faith that God loves us and wants the very best for us, and have a corresponding commitment to be obedient to God. If we will do that, we will find our way laid out before us, with great blessing, peace and joy.

I am constantly dealing with people who agonize over various decisions, when they haven’t put in place the foundation I just mentioned. Either pride keeps them from really listening to God, or else false humility tells them they couldn’t hear Him if He did speak to them. A heart that is committed to obedience to God is going to want to get as much of His “guide book,” the Bible, into their head and heart as possible. Doing that clarifies a great deal! However, just having it in your head doesn’t do the trick, as I can certainly testify from personal experience. Solomon, I’m sure, was very well versed in the Pentateuch, and he still violated it very specifically. We’ve got to be active in applying the Word in our daily lives, not just treating it as pretty words for Sundays. I am charged with speaking the Word to people, on Sundays and otherwise, but I’ve got to be applying it myself if I’m to have any hope of their applying it as well.

Father, I certainly didn’t know where this was going when I started writing! Thank You for this spot-on insight, considering some of the situations I’m dealing with right now. Keep me from speaking out of my own head, but rather let me speak from Your heart. May I point each individual to You, and to nothing less. Keep me aware of my own fallibility so that I may not get puffed up like Solomon, but rather allow Your grace and love to flow through me, defective though I am, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!